Robin Puzzling
by widget29
Summary: Two-shot. Wally tries to figure out a moody Robin. Pure fluff ;D
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: Here's an older story I wrote when the series first started. I don't like it as much as my other ones, but I'd post it just for fun :P Not slash (but I won't stop you from interpreting it that way XD)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, DC, etc.**

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><p>Robin Puzzling<p>

Robin was avoiding him.

He supposed it should've been creepy how easily he noticed the younger boy's subtle shifts in moods. It definitely showed that he watched the kid too closely. It wasn't exactly an obsession; just a pastime—Robin Watching. Or Robin Puzzling. That's what he'd call it. Normally it was a strictly passive hobby. He stood on the side and watched, analyzing a bit if something interesting presented itself. He had never used his conclusions to try to influence Robin's behavior or change him in any way. It was simply observation.

But things felt a little different this time. Maybe because it involved Wally directly. For the life of him, he could not figure out why Robin was suddenly ignoring him. Now it _had _become an obsession—trying to understand Robin's behavior, watching and waiting for the right moment to bring it up.

"And _that's_ why I don't like pineapple on pizza." Wally finished up his long-winded story and flashed his teammates a grin, ready for the praise.

There was an awkward pause. "That was… interesting, Wally," M'gann offered.

Artemis snorted. "Right,_ interesting_. Exactly what I was going to say."

"Shud uff."

"Wally, don't talk with your mouth full," Kaldur said tiredly.

Wally swallowed as he leaned forward to grab a couple more slices of pizza. "You guys just don't understand proper story telling. It's an ancient and delicate art."

Artemis just rolled her eyes.

The team continued to eat their pizza, chatting and exchanging jokes. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable. But Wally was distracted by the large gaping silence across from him. Robin kept his eyes on his food, only looking up occasionally to smile at something anyone _but_ Wally had said. It was a strange sensation being ignored like this. It was like missing the last step at the top of the stairs, or having someone pull the chair out from under you as you're trying to sit. All Wally could think about was the _absence_; Robin's jokes, his gaze, his sharp attention—all usually focused on Wally—were just _gone_.

"You know," Wally began, trying to sound casual. "That story reminded me of something _Robin_—"

"I got some work to do," Robin said suddenly, pushing his chair back. "I'm gonna take this to my room."

"Are you sure?" M'gann asked, her eyebrows knitting with concern.

"Yeah. Sorry. Next time, guys."

Wally's stomach sank as he watched Robin carried his plate off. Next to him, Kaldur frowned and mouthed _What did you do?_ at Wally.

"I don't know!" he hissed back under his breath.

Kaldur glanced at Robin's retreating figure, making sure he was out of earshot. "Well _something_ must have happened."

"What—" Superboy began to ask. M'gann touched his arm and shook her head.

"Well, _I_ didn't do anything," Wally insisted. Why did everyone assume it was his fault?

"Probably just hormones," Artemis remarked casually.

Wally gave her a horrified look.

"You know, puberty—"

"LALALALA!" Wally shouted desperately, covering his ears. "What are you, my parents? There's _no way_ we're talking about 'changes' and 'new feelings' in Mount Justice! Gah!" he finished with a shudder. Definitely the last thing he wanted to think about in regards to his best friend.

His teammates were all giving him strange looks now. Although M'gann and Superboy had an air of confusion whereas Artemis and Kaldur seemed mostly amused.

"Wally, don't tell me you never learned about the birds and the bees," Artemis said with a smirk.

"_Ewww_! _Stop_!"

~o*O*o~

He was avoiding Wally.

And Robin just _knew_ the older boy could tell. He really didn't mean to ignore him like this, but he couldn't help it. Robin had screwed up big time on his last mission in Gotham, disappointing both Batman and himself. Most people thought it was a good idea to talk about these kinds of things and get them out in the open. But the last thing Robin wanted was someone staring at him with sympathetic eyes, reminding him that he had something to feel bad about, that he had failed. Thinking about what had happened made him sick with anger and frustration. He was _done_ with it. All he wanted was to push it to the back of his mind and _move on_. That was precisely why he couldn't be around Wally. The older boy would know something was up; he'd spot it in an instant. Robin had forgotten how to keep himself guarded when he was with his friend.

Robin sighed, picking at his cold pizza. Was it bad that he let Wally get so close? Most of the time everything was good, but things tended to turn bad fast, and it was always Robin's fault.

Wally's green eyes—dark and withdrawn as he watched him leave—surfaced in his thoughts.

Robin rested his head against his desk, feeling miserable. He just didn't know how to be a good friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: Aw, thanks for all the reviews/faves, everyone! 3 I actually like this second part more, so hopefully you guys will enjoy it! :D  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, DC, etc.**

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><p>Robin Puzzling<br>**  
><strong>

"Rob! Robin, wake up!"

Robin grunted irritably as he was roughly shaken. The urge to bury his face in his pillow and ignore the annoying disturbance was almost overwhelming, but the urgency of the voice soon registered in his mind and it made him bolt upright. He squinted at the figure leaning over him.

"KF? What's going on?"

Wally's white teeth seemed to glow brilliantly in the darkness as he grinned—like the Cheshire cat. "We've got ourselves a situation, Boy Wonder."

Robin flopped back onto his pillow with a groan. "Another mission? _Now_?"

"Not exactly…" Wally said slyly.

Robin stared up at his friend curiously. Wally was buzzing with barely-contained excitement. The air around him seemed to hum with his energy.

"Then what it is?"

A piece of paper was thrust in his face.

"Well, I'm assuming that this very important thing is somehow connected to what's written on this paper. But seeing as how it's dark—"

There was a flash of bright light. "_Wally_!" Robin sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the bright colors swimming in his vision. "You just shined that stupid thing in my eyes!"

"Oops. Sorry, dude. You okay?"

"Yeah. Just lost my vision is all. I'll be fine," he grumbled. Everything was still a little blurry. But Wally was giving him an apologetic look that was bordering on miserable, so Robin tried to redirect his attention. "So what does this paper say and why is it so important?"

Wally's smile returned immediately. "Just read!"

He handed Robin the paper. This time he was careful to direct the flashlight away from his friend's eyes as he leaned over so they could examine the writing together.

" 'What has four legs and a back but no head?' " Robin read aloud. Wally's eyes were bright and expectant when he looked up.

"Well?" Wally demanded, smile widening.

"Um… is the answer a chair?"

"Yes!"

Well he had answered the riddle, but Wally seemed to be waiting for something else now.

"And now I'm supposed to…?" Robin prompted.

"Don't you get it? A chair!"

"Yeah, I got _that_. But is that supposed to mean something? Like should I go get a chair or draw a chair or…?"

"No, man, it's a treasure hunt! You know, you work out the clues to find a prize."

A treasure hunt. Wally had woken him up in the middle of the night for a _game_. Figures. Robin seriously considered chucking the older boy out of his room and going right back to sleep. He was too mentally and physically exhausted for this. But the light from the flashlight caught on Wally's eyes, and they were so very bright. Robin owed him this for the way he'd been acting. He had to at least _try_.

"So… I have to find a chair?"

"Yup!" Wally bounced up and down on the bed. "Find the chair and you'll find the next clue!"

"But we've got _tons _chairs in this place. Which one am I looking for?"

Wally seemed to deflate a little. "Oh. Right… Um, I'll tell you which room it's in?"

"You suck at this, KF." Robin gave his friend a little shove to show he was joking.

Wally smiled up at him. "Kitchen first."

~o*O*o~

Robin found the next clue taped under one of the kitchen table chairs. He held it under the flashlight and read, " 'First think of a drink that's hot and cold, found in East and West, made from fungus and…mold?' Okaaaay… 'Then think of a shape flying overhead, that hunters try to shoot down dead…' Wally, these are terrible."

"Hey! It took me forever to come up with these, you know!"

"I think you took the rhyming thing too seriously. I'm not even sure these make sense anymore."

"Come _on_. Just try to think of an answer!"

Robin read over the lines quickly again. "Well, I think the first one is 'tea.' But that's not made from—"

"I know, I know! Rhyming issues. What's the next part?"

"Hunters try to shoot down… Well, like ducks, I guess. And ducks fly in a 'V' shape so…"

"_Sooooooo_."

"Tea and 'V'? _Oh_. _TV_. Television. Got it."

Wally gave a triumphant laugh and started pushing him towards the living room. "Come on, Come on! Next one!"

"Seriously, dude. These riddles are _painfully bad_. You could win some sort of award or something."

"You're just spoiled. Not all of us have a villain named 'The Riddler' to refine our riddling skills with."

Robin just laughed. This was actually turning out to be kind of fun—running around the dark halls of Mount Justice with just a flashlight, tripping over furniture, trying not to wake up their teammates. It reminded Robin of the first time he and Wally had gone on a mission together. He remembered ducking behind some crates together, preparing to leap out and attack an unsuspecting goon. They had covered their mouths because they both couldn't stop giggling, thinking about how surprised and stupid the guy would look. He remembered that feeling of invincibility and the joy of sharing it with someone.

"The ocean," Robin said firmly in response to another riddle ('The biggest toilet in the world').

"_Dude_. How'd you get that one so fast? I thought it was pretty tricky…"

"I just know how you think."

The two boys stared at each other expectantly.

"Well?" Wally finally asked.

"Well what?"

"_Follow the clue_."

"What? You mean we actually have to go _outside_? _Into the ocean_? I thought this was the end!"

"It is. But now we've gotta go get the prize, don't we? Come on, don't be such a wuss. We don't even have to go into the water. Just onto the beach." Wally grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

The wind was heavy with salt and wonderfully fresh against Robin's face. The sand felt cool and damp under his bare feet—white, still, and serene. In stark contrast, the sea looked dark and wild and mysterious. Robin stared up at the bright moon, realizing never actually seen the beach at night before.

But Wally didn't want to stop and admire the scenery. He tugged on Robin's hand impatiently. "This way!"

They followed the shoreline, the quiet tide lapping invitingly at their feet. Robin did not pay attention to where they were going. He trusted Wally to steer him while he looked all around him, taking in as much as he could. There really wasn't much to _see_, but the sounds, the feelings—all his other senses leapt to life.

"Here."

Robin realized they had stopped. He looked behind him. He could no longer see the entrance to the hideout, and he guessed that they were halfway to the other side of Mount Justice. Their footsteps trailed back, fading as they reached a bend in the shore. Soon their footsteps would be washed away completely and it would be impossible to tell where they had come from.

"Dude, are you gonna sit or what?"

Robin focused back on Wally, who flopped down on a blanket next to a big cooler. The younger boy stretched out next to his friend. "A picnic, KF? Is this like a dry run for a date you're planning or something?"

"Yeah, right." Wally tossed him a soda. "Don't tell anyone this, Rob—cause, you know, I've got a reputation to keep and all that—but I'm not exactly every girl's number one choice for prom or whatever."

Laughter burst out of Robin, loud and carefree. He didn't know whether it was happiness or relief or madness or all of them combined, but he lay there on the beach in the middle of the night laughing his head off.

Wally just stared at him like he was crazy. "I can't believe it. I drove my best friend insane with my awful riddles."

Robin took a deep calming breath, wiping away the tears that had leaked from his eyes. It registered briefly that he didn't have his sunglasses on, but then he realized he didn't care. "Almost," he said with a lingering chuckle.

Wally dug out some sandwiches from the cooler, and Robin bit into his ravenously. "So, seriously, why the picnic and everything?"

Wally shrugged. "Figured you'd be hungry since you didn't eat much for dinner. And I just felt like doing something fun. It got you talking to me again, didn't it?"

Robin felt his face heat up, and he had to look away from his friend. "Yeah, about that… Look, KF—"

"Don't even worry about it, dude."

Robin took another bite of his sandwich, using the movement to cover the silence he needed to think. He chewed slowly and swallowed. "Thanks."

Wally made a movement with his hand as if to wave the word it away.

The gesture made Robin smile. "So tell me again why you don't like pineapple on pizza?"

"Oh, man. It was _awful._ So first day of seventh grade we had this pizza for lunch…"


End file.
